Language Learning, the Natural Way

Americans are lousy at foreign languages. I myself took French for years and years, and still can barely tell a Paris cab driver where I want to go without stumbling into English, and earning a Gallic glare.

There are various reasons for this. Compared with Europeans, most Americans have many fewer chances outside classrooms to practice languages other than English, and much less need to do so. But one cause may be the way we teach...